


What? Like It’s Hard?

by TheWaywardSong



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Lawyers, Borderline crack, Legally Blonde AU, M/M, YouTuber!Eren, but not really, lawyer!Levi, loosely based, professor!erwin, slowish burn, student!eren
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2020-02-04
Packaged: 2021-02-18 00:54:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21502603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWaywardSong/pseuds/TheWaywardSong
Summary: Eren Jeager has always lived a picture perfect life that anyone can take a peek into, after all, he documents the whole thing on his lifestyle YouTube channel. But when Jean dumps him for not being smart or serious enough to be the husband of a Harvard-bound law student, Eren is ready to prove him wrong but he’s going to need some help, maybe from the hot, brooding lawyer who always seems to show up at the wrong time.(It’s a Legally Blonde AU)
Relationships: Jean Kirstein/Eren Jeager (Previous), Levi/Eren Yeager, Marco Bott/Jean Kirstein
Comments: 80
Kudos: 212





	1. Boyfriend SURPRISES Me at Fancy Restaurant!

**Author's Note:**

> Supposed to be working on an angst-ridden fic and this borderline crack idea was too great not to write. Enjoy!

“Hey there my little Jaeger-bombs, how are you doing tonight? I am doing a very special live session from right here in my room because I have some very major news for you!”

Eren flashed a bright smile at the camera, trying not to spin in his chair, he didn’t want to make the audience dizzy but he could barely contain himself. This was the biggest thing that had ever happened to him, well, maybe not _the biggest_ , because there was that one time he got to meet & greet tickets to Ariana Grande but shit, it was definitely up there. 

“I think I’m getting engaged tonight!” Eren clasped his hands over his mouth, trying to avoid shrieking into the camera. Deep inhale, and exhale out, okay good, this is fine, _you’re fine Eren._

“I mean, it’s not definite but my boyfriend made us reservations at literally the best restaurant in the entire city and he’s been acting weird. But not like, _bad_ weird, just like a little off and asking me a lot of questions about what I want in the future, and he took this mysterious trip to the city the other week which at first I thought okay—red flag, but Armin, who you all probably know from some of my hair care videos, was like he is _definitely_ ring shopping.”

Eren paused, letting the comments flash at the bottom of the screen, his followers were just as enthusiastic about the evening as he was. Well, almost all of them but there were always going to be negative people. 

“Okay, I see some of you who are still thinking that something else could be going on but we’ve been together for a while and we graduate pretty fucking soon so it just makes sense you know? I love that I have so many people looking out for me though, and I’m going to try to stay super calm, cool, and collected but it’s going to be so hard! 

This was just a short little live session because talking to all of you amazing fans out there is the perfect way to get things off my chest so I’m ready for tonight, but I do have some last minute touches so—I love you all, you are amazing and be sure to watch for a live session tomorrow because I will definitely be showing off that ring!”

The camera clicked off and Eren took another deep breath. _Shit_ , that hadn’t calmed his nerves as much as he hoped, his hand was still shaking, heart pounding, he felt like he had chugged a caramel macchiato and then ran a mile. Even his forehead felt damp. It was hard, knowing you were about to be proposed to, but at least he was prepared. 

Eren bent over at his vanity and stared directly into his own green eyes. “You’ve got this Jaeger, let’s go get a husband.”

Descending the stairs less than an hour later, Eren was an absolute vision in emerald trousers and a white linen dress shirt, left unbuttoned at the top, contrasting starkly with his tanned chest. Armin had taken care of Eren’s chestnut locks, tousling them back just neatly enough for it to be posh, but just messy enough to be runway ready. 

“Eren, you look fantastic!”

Murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd. The entire sorority house was gathered at the foot of the stairs as Eren made his appearance. And really, he did look fantastic, that was the one part he was absolutely sure of heading into tonight.

“Do you really think Jean is going to propose tonight?” Eren whispered to Armin. He met his best friend at the bottom of the stairs, taking his hands and giving them a tight squeeze. 

“Please, he got reservations at _Mitras_ ,” Mikasa chimed in, stealing Eren’s left hand and holding up his ring finger. She locked eyes with him, “If you don’t come back with a ring on that finger, I’ll have to have a conversation with Jean.”

God, his friends were embarrassing. It was one thing for Eren to be confident of the proposal, but if Jean was just taking him out for a nice dinner, no big life changing question, Eren was a little worried that they really might be out for blood. It may have been partly his fault, he fed into the idea of Jean proposing but if anyone was to blame it was Armin, he was the one who put the engagement idea out there in the first place.

“I’m trying not to get my hopes up too much. I mean, Jean takes me to nice places all the time, it doesn’t mean he’ll be proposing.”

“Is that why you got your nails done?” 

Shit, all this blushing was doing nothing for his complexion. Eren’s cheeks hadn’t cooled down any since he came downstairs and meeting Jean red faced and sweaty was not going to be a good look if his boyfriend did plan on proposing. Avoiding eye contact with the rest of the house, Eren stared down at his neatly manicured nails, topped with a clear coat for an extra shine. Mikasa was right though, Eren had seen his manicurist and esthetician in the last 24 hours, he was buffed, waxed, and polished within an inch of his life.

But seriously, who could blame him? His boyfriend started constantly talking about the future, and yea they were graduating like—very soon, but in the four years they had dated, Jean wasn’t really the “planning for the future” type. Unless it was planning for a Friday night party, he was great at that. The mysterious trip out of town though, they hadn’t gone out to dinner since then, which could only mean that it had been an expensive trip. Rings were expensive. Eren was a Media and Communications major, but he could still do the math. 

“Eren, he’s here!”

Jean’s BMW could be heard purring up to the driveway before he killed the engine. Jean was a gentleman, so he always came to the door to fetch Eren for their dates but he barely had time to knock before one of the new pledges opened the french doors. Which was great, definitely looked like they were all playing it cool, having the entire sorority house send Eren off on what was supposedly a totally normal, regular date. 

“Hi Jean,” Eren rushed to the door, taking a moment to smooth his hair. He sounded out of breath, all the speculation of the evening had him on edge and they hadn’t even made it to the restaurant, fuck, how was he supposed to pretend he had no clue what was about to happen. Don’t spoil this, Eren. 

Jean complimented Eren’s outfit and Eren tried to act like he didn’t know he looked stunning. 

“It’s been a while since we had a nice date like this, Jean, I haven’t been to Mitras yet.” Eren played coy once he settled into the passenger’s seat. 

“Oh, yea I guess we haven’t been yet,” Jean shrugged. Honestly, Eren was impressed. Jean was going to be a fantastic lawyer, which Eren now knew was Jean’s big dream because they had so many conversations about the future lately, but if his boyfriend could be this cool and collected literally minutes before proposing then he was going to be ice cold in a courtroom. 

Jean aimlessly tapped on the gearshift, he wasn’t particularly chatty on the drive but that was nothing new, Eren was content to bop along to the beat of the radio, rubbing his thumb across the knuckle of his left ring finger, and imagining what kind of face he would make when Jean got down on one knee. He wanted to look surprised but still poised, not too staged either because he had seen pictures of people who overdid their reaction and it had been nothing less than tacky. 

“We’re here,” Jean interrupted Eren’s planning with his signature smile and wow, Eren couldn’t help but think how lucky he was to land such a handsome future husband. That was what it had always been about, from the moment they met, Eren knew he would marry Jean. He was as picture perfect as the rest of Eren’s life, well-to-do, from a good family, future lawyer extraordinaire, every box was checked. His dad was going to be thrilled when he called him later, unless Jean had already told him, Eren wasn’t sure how traditional his boyfriend had been with the whole asking the parents thing. 

Sitting down at their cozy little table, tucked away from the main chaos of the dining area, Eren was hit with a wall of anxiety. Would Jean ask before they ordered? After? Before the food came? As they were leaving so they could celebrate with a glass of champagne and dessert? Everytime Jean opened his mouth Eren held his breath, any moment could be the moment and by the time the waiter was clearing their plates, Eren was about ready to pop the question himself just so he could calm down. 

“Eren, it means a lot to me that you came tonight, I know I’ve had a lot going on lately.”

Shit, this could be it. Eren took a deep breath and tried to focus on what Jean was saying instead of the deafening pounding in his chest. 

“Of course,” He mustered. “A future lawyer has a lot on his plate and you know that I am _very_ supportive of all of your future plans.”

“And that is fantastic, it makes everything so much easier. I have had so much fun with you over the past four years Eren, college was everything I wanted it to be, and now I’m going to Harvard next year, I mean shit this is the future I always talked about. 

But I feel like, my future is going to be more serious. I won’t be a fraternity president, I’ll be in law school, Eren. A lot is going to change, it won’t be just parties and football games anymore.”

Eren plucked Jeans hand from the table and gave it a squeeze. This was going well, Eren was a little surprised how serious it all was, but marriage was a very serious thing, Jean would get to the _confessing-his-undying-love_ in a second. After all, Jean had never been great with feelings, Eren offered him a little encouragement. 

“I understand completely, it’s a big change and I didn’t expect things to stay like this forever. I support you, Jean, I really do.”

“That is so good to hear, Eren. Honestly, I was a little worried with how you were going to take this.”

Jean leaned back in his seat, pulling his hand out of Eren’s and running it through his hair. He looked, relieved, which was confusing. Actually, Eren was really confused. Jean hasn’t gotten to the proposal part yet and Eren wasn’t sure why Jean thought he would ever have a negative reaction to his boyfriend of almost four years finally popping the question.

“How I was going to take what?”

“This.” Jean gestured between them. “Getting serious, me going off to Harvard, graduating.”

“I’m fine with all of those things. I mean, I don’t think life is just being in college throwing sorority parties and wet T-shirt contests.”

“I know, I just always worried you thought this was forever.”

“Jean,” Eren lowered his voice. He had a sinking feeling that this dinner had been for the complete opposite purpose that he thought it was. “We are in a beautiful restaurant so excuse my language but what the _fuck_ are you talking about.”

“I’m going to Harvard, getting on with my life, getting serious about things.” 

“You brought me here to dump me.”

It wasn’t a question, it was a statement. Eren wasn’t sure if it was for Jean’s benefit or his, but his boyfriend, or ex-boyfriend, wasn’t going to come out and say it, because that would make him look like the bad guy. Except, he kind of was, because he brought Eren to the best restaurant in town on a Saturday night and talked about the future the entire time, expecting that somehow Eren would figure out that Jean’s future didn’t include him and he wouldn’t have to do any actual dumping. 

“Eren, dump is such an ugly word, I thought you knew we were going our separate ways.”

“Exactly how was I supposed to catch on to that? When you invited me out to the fancy restaurant, when you railed me in the back of your car on Monday, or when you wanted to talk about the future all the time?”

“See, this is exactly the reaction I was worried about.”

“Why wouldn’t you tell me about this sooner?”

“I thought we were on the same page! And I didn’t want stuff to change, at least not yet…”

It was taking all of Eren’s inner strength to not make a scene. Deep yoga breaths, in one, two, out three, four. It wasn’t helping, he was still seething. 

“So you didn’t want to tell me about this because you wanted to keep sleeping with me!”

“Eren, sweetheart—“

“Don’t call me that!”

“I thought you knew when I told you about Harvard, I thought we wanted the same things. If I had known you thought this was long term, I would have said something. But how was I supposed to know that?”

“I can’t believe I thought you were going to propose tonight.” Eren slumped back in his chair, breathless but not for the reasons he would have thought tonight. Jean was still fumbling for the right words, obviously having put the whole ordeal off for as long as he could. 

“Eren, we were never going to get married. I have to get serious, be smart.”

At this point, Eren wasn’t trying to tiptoe around things. Jean had done enough of that for the night and it hadn’t gotten them anywhere.

“You’re not smart, you’re an idiot and thought that you could just drop hints and I would figure out that your future doesn’t include me.”

“Eren, honey, I thought we both knew we were just having fun in college, I’m going to be a lawyer. You are so _so_ pretty, like sexy as hell, and you’re amazing in bed, but I’m a Kirstein and we’re like all big time lawyers. My dad thinks I should wait and find someone at Harvard who gets that kind of life.”

“So you’re breaking up with me because I’m hot and not what, smart or serious enough to marry a lawyer?”

“Don’t twist my words around.”

“No, I’m not. I’m clarifying. God, I don’t know who the bigger idiot is, you or me. I’m leaving, thank you so much for explaining things Jean, I can honestly say you are doing me a huge favor.”

  
Eren pushed back from the table and dropped his napkin on his plate. He looked across the table at Jean and his stupid horse face, he looked like he was waiting for Eren to really snap, to scream and throw a glass of wine at him, and part of Eren really wanted to do that. And the other part, the part that had somehow wrangled control before the situation got out of hand, shook his head and calmly walked away


	2. I move ACROSS THE COUNTRY!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A consistent posting schedule? During the holidays? What’s that?
> 
> Ha. I’ll try my best. Thank you [FromStarlightToDust](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fromstarlighttodust/pseuds/fromstarlighttodust) for always letting me bounce ideas off of you, and convincing me the video sequence isn’t just straight crack. Cause it is.

Eren didn’t leave his room for a week. Part of it was because walking a few miles home in dress shoes will give you terrible blisters, part of it was because it was customary to binge watch rom coms in the wake of romantic tragedy, but the biggest part was Eren was embarrassed. 

Actually, that was putting it lightly. Eren was completely mortified. The falling faces of the entire sorority house would be forever etched into his brain when he came home, ringless, hair plastered flat against his head from sweat. He didn’t say a word when he got home, he didn’t have to, their faces let him know that everyone knew exactly what happened. Mikasa and Armin were the only ones who tried to approach him the next day, but he couldn’t find it in himself to open the door. 

Nothing but silence on social media too. Eren was a minor internet celebrity, it wasn’t an entire career yet but he had tens of thousands of followers across a few platforms and posted to Instagram at least twice a day. At least a quarter of his followers had tuned in for the live video where Eren announced the news of his upcoming engagement, half of the rest had watched it while he was on his date, before he could take the video down. Taking the video down was a hard decision but there was going to be backlash and comments swirling either way, removing the evidence of the potential engagement was cathartic and gave Eren some semblance of dignity. 

**@P10Jenn**

_ OMG did you see @JaegerBombAsstic took down that live video? I wonder if something happened?! _

_ 13 comments _ __ __ _ 6 retweets  _ __ __ _ 233 likes _

__

**@BarBB54**

_ Guarantee there’s not going to be that ring reveal video now  _

_ 3 comments _ __ __ _ 11 retweets  _ __ __ _ 479 likes _

__ **_@RishBish_ **

__ _ Kinda cocky to post that kind of video anyway, bet his boyfriend saw it and _

_ changed his mind. I wouldn’t want to marry someone who put all my shit out in _

_ the open like that either. #Cancelled _

_ 1 comment _ __ __ _ 4 retweets  _ __ __ _ 56 likes _

__ __ **_@P10Jenn_ **

__ __ _ That’s literally the dumbest reason to #cancel someone *rolls eyes* _

__ __ _ 0 comments _ __ __ _ 1 retweet _ __ __ _ 4 likes _

Eren had turned off his mentions shortly after the video went down, the internet was brutal and for every positive person there were nine others who spent their entire day waiting to pounce on some drama. It was probably for the best anyway, Eren didn’t have a plan. His plan until Jean dumped him was to graduate, go find a super cute townhouse in Cambridge, and become a social media influencer while his fiance became a super successful lawyer. He could still do that, well parts of it, but when he laid it out on paper it didn’t look as great as it had always sounded. 

Jean had called him pretty, sexy, great in bed, which yea Eren knew he was all of those things but he had other great qualities too damnit. He was president of his sorority, that was big, that was the kind of shit that looked good on a resume. And all those wet T-shirt contests? Well those sent some pretty big checks over to the animal shelters. 

Eren wasn’t stupid. He dressed well, wore a little makeup, and liked watching Gossip Girl reruns with a facemask on but he was smart, too smart for someone like Jean. Why was being a lawyer such a big deal anyway? Eren could be a lawyer too, if he wanted to.

Wait, Eren could be a lawyer too. 

He sat up, crumpled snack cake wrappers falling from his chest to the floor, Eren ignored the mess, it could be cleaned up. Right now he had research to do.

Six days after the disastrous nonproposal, Eren sat in his bed with his MacBook in his lap and googled furiously. On the seventh day, he emerged from his room.

“Eren?”

“Morning Mikasa,” Eren greeted from behind his laptop. It was a little before nine in the morning and Eren was perched on a stool at the kitchen counter, fluffy white robe wrapped around his body and a pink silk hair wrap twisted around his head. Face freshly scrubbed, coffee in hand, Mikasa was surprised to see her stepbrother this put together, particularly after spending six days out of the public eye. 

“Is everything...good?”

“Everything is fantastic! Mikasa, did you know that to get into Harvard law you only need to get like a 170 on the LSAT?”

Of all the questions Mikasa expected to come out of Eren’s mouth, that wasn’t it. She blinked at Eren and glanced back at the clock on the over, maybe this was some strange dream. 

“I mean, that isn’t the only requirement, but it’s the only one I need to work on. I have a 3.8 gpa, I’m president of a sorority, and I’ve been doing charity work since I was in diapers being toted to galas.”

“Eren, you’re a Media and Communications major, you want to be an Instagram model when you graduate, you went to college because your mom was in a sorority and you wanted to make her proud. Why are you telling me the requirements to get into Harvard law?”

“Because I want to be a lawyer.”

“Is this because of Jean?”

Eren sighed and shut his laptop. Mikasa felt like a child the way he was looking at her, she was missing something key here. Eren Jaeger was not the type of person to shut himself away for a week and emerge with a new passion for law. 

“Mikasa, how would you describe me?”

It was a trick question. She knew it. But the way Eren asked didn’t leave her much room to avoid answering.

“You’re kind, enthusiastic, beautiful, passionate—stubborn, hard headed, and frustrating to be honest.”

“Would you say I’m smart or clever?”

“I wouldn’t say you  _ aren’t _ those things.”

“But they aren’t the first things to come to mind. It’s okay, Mika, I wouldn’t have picked those words to describe myself either, but I am! I’m smart and clever and all those other things you said, but what am I doing with it? 

I love being an influencer, knowing I look good, but I’m tired of people thinking that I can’t be more than a pretty face. To answer your question, I guess yea it’s a little bit about Jean, but it’s more about me. Jean said he has to be serious now, that we can’t be together because I’m too pretty and I’m not a lawyer. I’m not about to cut my hair and change my clothes, but I can do this and prove him wrong.”

“That’s…” Mikasa paused, pursuing her lips in search of the right words. “Remarkable, Eren. Really, I’m proud of you and if this is what you want to do, Armin, me and all the rest of us will be here to help. How long do you have before you apply?”

“A few weeks before I have to take the LSAT.”

Impossible. There was no way Eren could learn enough over the next few weeks to sit for the LSAT, let alone pass it with a high enough score to get into  _ Harvard Law _ . Eren’s passion might be impressive but it would take a lot more than that to make this happen. 

Mikasa took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and nodded. 

“Okay, let’s get started.”

—

“Hi there, I’m Eren Jaeger and I’m here to tell you why I belong at Harvard Law!”

Eren appeared on the screen shirtless on a lime green pool float, drifting through the water. His tan skin glistened in the sun and he lowered his sunglasses to wink at the camera. The scene changed to Eren dressed professionally in a white button down, back to the camera, looking over his shoulder to address the audience.

“As president of my sorority, I know how to command a room, make decisions, and get things done!”

Eren turned to reveal a small calico cat in his arms. “Under my direction, our sorority has raised thousands for local animal shelters and found precious animals like Gunther here a home.”

Walking toward the camera, Eren placed the cat into Mikasa’s waiting arms and took a folder from Armin. He pulled out a photo of himself in a canary yellow fur jacket that reached his knees, in the photo Eren posed with the jacket pulled tight around him and tall white boots completing the look. After the camera zoomed in on the photo, he dropped it on the floor and pulled several photos of other people wearing the same jacket out of the folder, showing each one to the camera before tossing it away. 

“I majored in Media and Communications, and as an Instagram influencer I know how to make people see things my way. I got over a thousand of my followers to buy  _ this _ jacket, so you could say I make a convincing argument.”

Now Eren was jogging in a pair of white shorts with a pink crop top on, people milling around him. He stopped running for a moment to address the camera again, wiping a drop of sweat from his brow. 

“I’m even comfortable using legal jargon on a regular basis—”

A passerby laid a hand on Eren’s exposed hip only to be swatted away with a bright, “I object!”

The last scene was Eren dressed in the same outfit he was supposed to be proposed to in, looking just as good as he had that night. He sat at a clean desk with his hands folded in front. 

“I’m Eren Jeager, I approve this message, and I can’t wait to study at Harvard.”

Mikasa thought the video was a little cheesey. “Really, Eren, you should just write a normal essay like everyone else. They might not even watch this!”

He snorted in response, eyes still focused on the screen in front of him. 

“If I don’t do something that makes me stand out from the crowd, they’re not even going to glance at my application. They’ll see ‘Eren Jaeger, non-law major’ and throw it in the trash. Trust me, Mika. If there’s one thing I can do, it’s market myself.”

“Eren, Eren are you in here—oh, Mikasa, good you’re here too. The LSAT scores came in.”

Armin handed the letter to Eren, both hands shaking as they passed the paper. Eren paused, looking up at his friends, they nodded in unison before ripping he ripped open the envelope. 

“171...Guys, I got a 171!”

Eren sent in the application the next day, now that his scores were secured, all that was left was to wait. Early admissions had already received their answers and slowly Eren watched the feed of people announcing their acceptance to Harvard, after a few days of that, Eren blocked the Harvard hashtag on Twitter. 

“Alright my little Jaeger Bombs, now we are going to take a deep breath, and bring it back to starting position with our exhale.

Iiiiiin, and hold, move on the exhale, ouuuut.”

Mikasa knocked on Eren’s bedroom door and stepped inside without waiting for his answer, Armin trailing closely after her. Eren stood in the middle of the room, eyes closed, in a simple yoga pose while the sound of crashing waves surrounded him. 

He didn’t turn toward his friends when he heard the door close. “Sign is on the door, I’m in the middle of filming.”

Armin and Mikasa shared a knowing glance. 

“We didn’t think this could wait, Eren.” Mikasa stepped forward and offered the letter. Eren spun his pose to the side and opened one eye, dramatically reaching for the envelope. He scanned the address. Harvard. Harvard  _ Admissions _ . Eren glanced back up at his friends. 

“This envelope is already open.”

“I’m sorry, Eren. It’s my fault…”Armin interjected, just as Eren straightened up and pulled out the results. His viridian eyes misted up, looking at his friends he looked ready to burst into tears, swooping both into a crushing hug. 

“I got in! I GOT IN! I’m fucking going to Harvard!”


	3. I Embarrassed Myself in Front of my Friend's HOT Roommate!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the love on this fic, I'm so glad that Eren as Elle Woods gives people as much joy as I've gotten from writing this AU. Your comments have been giving me life! We are going to get a little off script here but I think (hope?) you guys are going to like what I have planned. And by planned I mean this chapter just kind of happened.

Graduation snuck up on Eren faster than he imagined. Getting into Harvard was supposed to be a relief, but after that he had to get enrolled for classes, find a place to live, and, of course, break the news to his parents. 

Dr. Grisha Jaeger worked hard so his wife and only son didn’t have to, Dr. Carla Jaeger was his college sweetheart determined not to be a doctor’s trophy wife. It was only after Grisha opened his own practice that Eren came along, he was the center of their world and really it was a wonder he wasn’t a spoiled trust fund kid with how they doted on him. When Eren wanted to be an influencer instead of getting a “real job,” his parents never doubted him, their son could fly to the moon with just his sheer charisma as far as they were concerned. Although, Carla was admittedly relieved when her son decided to go to college after all, even if it was only to join the same sorority his mother had led back in her day. 

To say he was nervous to tell them about law school was an understatement, which is why he enlisted Mikasa to accompany him on their lunch date. 

“Eren!” Carla swept her son into a crushing hug when they stepped in the doors of the country club. Eren would have been more embarrassed, but he did miss his mom, she had been his best friend until he got old enough to be interested in boys, but even then she was always ready with ice cream and rom coms for his latest heartbreak. 

Grisha gave his son his version of an affectionate greeting, which was a strong pat on the shoulder and a ruffle to his hair. Eren protested the childlike ruffling, but didn’t bother to pull his head away from his father’s hand.

Mikasa politely greeted the Jaegers and they were ushered to their usual table on the patio where they could enjoy lunch while basking in the summer sun. 

“So,” Grisha began, while the waiter poured their glasses of white wine. “It takes big news for our only son to decide to finally pay us a visit does it?”

Eren grinned sheepishly. “I’ve been  _ so _ busy, Dad. I know it’s not a good excuse, I’m sorry, but I’m almost a college  _ graduate _ now.”

“Grisha,” Carla cooed, “Our baby Eren is a grown adult. Have you decided what you’re going to do next? I thought maybe California would be good for your Instagram following, sunny skies, blue beaches, that’s the sort of thing people want to see right?”

“Yea, no, that would be great.”

“Or, he could come home, nothing wrong with that. Your mother goes on enough trips that you could get your fill of beaches and sun without being so far away.” Grisha interjected with a poignant stab at his freshly delivered side salad, grumbling when a cherry tomato began to roll away. 

“Actually Dad—I think I still want to move to Cambridge.” Eren hadn’t picked up his fork to begin eating. His hands were tucked under the table, kneading nervously as he worked up the courage to drop his news. Seated beside him, Mikasa was quietly picking at her food, ready to back him up if need be but there for moral support more than anything else. 

“Still?” 

“Oh, Cambridge is beautiful too Eren,” Carla was quick to cover her husband’s less-than-enthusiastic response. “We just thought you might try something else, now that—well, now that—”

“Now that I’m not marrying Jean.”

“Oh Eren,” his mother reached across the table and gave her son’s hand a squeeze. “Are you alright? I was so worried about you when I heard the news.”

“Mom, it’s fine. Really. I have a plan, see when Jean broke things off I was devastated, but this is my one chance to show that I don’t need someone taking care of me. I’m smart, and  _ serious _ , enough to marry a lawyer—or even be one!”

“That’s right, Eren.” Grisha smiled proudly at his son. “You can do anything you set your mind too, just like another certain someone I know.” 

He looked at his wife with a knowing smile, tilting his wind glass in a mock toast. “I’m sure you will make Cambridge a wonderful town to do your media things.” “ 

“Thanks, Dad. But I’m actually going to Cambridge to prove something. I’ll still be doing my blogging and everything but—”

Mikasa gave a nod of encouragement, setting down her fork to take Eren’s hand under the table. 

“I’m going to Harvard.” Eren finally said, letting the words come out in a single breath. He paused, regaining his confidence. “I’m going to be a lawyer.”

Grisha and Carla sat across the table, momentarily stunned at the news. Not that they didn’t believe their son could really do anything, no, a Jaeger could do anything they put their mind to, but much like Mikasa the morning Eren first dropped the news of his plan, they weren’t expecting their fashion loving son to come back this summer with a new passion for law. 

“Eren, honey, is this because of Jean?”

“No, Mom, gosh, why does everyone think that? Okay I get it but—no, it’s not about Jean. Well, it was at first but, I want to show everyone I can  _ do _ something. And I know that I can! You’ve always taught me that right? So I put my mind to it, I worked hard, and I  _ got in _ . I got into Harvard law.”

His parents shared a look before his mother broke the silence. “Of course, Eren. And we fully believe that too. If you want to go be a lawyer, you go be the best lawyer that school has ever seen. We’re proud of you.”

Grisha waited until his wife was done with her reassurance to step in. “If this is what you really want, we’re happy to support you son, but that’s so far away from us. A big school, a strange city, and those classes will be much harder than your undergrad. I’m just worried about you making your way on your own.”

“Doctor Jaeger, don’t worry about that. I’m actually moving to Cambridge too.”

All three Jaegers turned to look at Mikasa. 

“You are?” Eren had asked Mikasa to come along to lunch for moral support, but he wasn’t expecting her to follow him all the way to Cambridge. He shouldn’t have been too surprised though, Mikasa had always been protective of him. Her unofficial little brother. 

“I have a cousin who lives in the area, he actually assists a few classes on the campus, but his roommate moved out. I found a job at a gym nearby and I’ll be right down the road from where Eren will be staying. He won’t be alone.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Eren was excited that he wouldn’t be all by himself in a brand new city, but he was pretty miffed that his best friend hadn’t bothered to tell him before this. 

“I just heard from my cousin, if he didn’t have the extra room I wasn’t sure I could go.” Mikasa shrugged and began to pick at her lunch. 

Eren continued to stare at his friend until Carla spoke up. 

“Well, Eren. If you’re sure this is what you want to do, you know you have your father and I’s blessing.”

“Especially,” Grisha added between a bite, “If Mikasa will be there to keep an eye on you. I always thought this girl had a good head on her shoulders.”

Eren grumbled again, but he couldn’t complain. The lunch had gone better than expected and he knew having Mikasa with him would be nice, it might stop his parents from worrying so much too. The final hoop had been jumped through, he was going to Harvard. 

—

“Hi everyone! Sorry there hasn’t been a new video in a while, my life has been absolutely crazy getting ready for the big move. But guess what? The day after tomorrow, I will have my first day at Harvard and you  _ know _ that I’ll be live that night to tell you how it goes!”

Eren gushed to his phone, set up on a tripod for an emergency live video stream. It had been over a week since he last connected with his online community and the  _ last _ time he had gone that silent—well, last time had been after Jean, which was such a disaster. 

Standing up, he plucked the phone off its stand and did a slow spin around the room. It was a beautiful apartment, a little second story one bedroom that overlooked a small park, freshly renovated with light gray walls and hardwood laminate floors. His parents were happy since the neighborhood was safe and equidistant from the campus and Mikasa’s cousins’.

“So, as you can see, I found this super cute place near campus but I haven’t even started unpacking. I flew out this morning but my moving van got delayed, so I just finished getting all these boxes upstairs. I’ll try to post a couple shots of the new place once I’m in and settled, my furniture gets delivered tomorrow, link in the bio, Rose Furniture has the  _ cutest _ pieces if you’re looking for something chic. Modern, Boho, even some actual vintage pieces, seriously check out their store and don’t forget to use my code: Jaeger10 for 10% off your first purchase! I’ll be showing you  _ my _ favorite pieces when I get things set up. ‘Til then, thanks for watching!”

Mikasa moved to Cambridge a week before Eren. This was convenient because by the time Eren got the last of his boxes moved up the stairs to his apartment, he was way too exhausted to also  _ unpack _ them. When he arrived at the two story townhouse, there was already a pizza on the table and a bottle of wine breathing on the countertop. 

“Forget every negative thing I said about you trying to babysit me while I’m here, this is  _ very _ needed!”

“I figured,” she snorted, letting her friend inside. 

“Mikasa, stairs suck balls.”

“So do you.”

“Okay, point taken, but like, not in a good way. In a ‘I won’t even need to find a spin class my body is so dead’ kind of way.”

Wrinkling her nose, Mikasa grabbed a few slices and made her way to the couch. “When you want some  _ real _ training, come see me at the gym.”

Eren rolled his eyes and followed her lead, nabbing the wine bottle on the way. He normally wouldn’t indulge this much but he worked hard today and there was no doubt he deserved some extra carbs. Mikasa turned on Netflix and they made nests in the couch, pizza on their laps and wine in hand. 

At some point, after the bottle had been emptied, another one opened, and then the two made their way through the second bottle as well, Eren had drifted to sleep on the couch. That was the plan from the beginning but not remembering falling asleep on the couch made it a lot scarier when Eren did wake up. 

Especially when he woke up to a loud noise.

_ Especially _ , when that loud noise was at 7am. 

“What. the.  _ Fuck? _ ” Eren shot up from the pile of blankets on the couch and looked around for Mikasa. Because who else would be up making a smoothie at the crack of dawn, okay, not the crack of dawn, but it was Sunday, the day of rest. He spotted a tuft of black hair peeking up from the fridge and stormed to the kitchen, blanket wrapped around his shoulders and hair sticking up wildly, ready to give Mikasa a piece of his mind. 

Only, it wasn’t Mikasa who closed the fridge. 

It  _ definitely _ wasn’t Mikasa standing shirtless in the kitchen, making a smoothie at 7am, wearing gray sweats that sat ungodly low so Eren’s mind couldn’t help but wander and wonder what was at the bottom of that V-cut. 

“Hi.” The word came out as a squeak while Eren drank in the man in the kitchen and suddenly remembered Mikasa’s cousin, the one who owned the townhouse in the first place. 

“Sorry, Mikasa didn’t tell me we had a guest.” 

It was then that Eren remembered that he was only in boxers and a blanket cape, thin boxers, like the kind that wouldn’t hide a boner. He adjusted the blanket cape to be more of a blanket dress but his cheeks were already red and the cousin was already giving him a grimace, or maybe that was just how his face was.

“Y-yea,” Eren’s voice betrayed him with a crack like he was in eighth grade again and trying to speak in front of the class. “I’m Eren, I just moved in yesterday. Well, kind of, I got the boxes in my apartment but I still have to unpack.”

Shit. Eren was rambling. The cousin was no longer grimacing, in fact, was that a tiny hint of a smile there? No, it was gone. But he was staring  _ right _ at Eren, with one sinfully defined brow arched over smouldering steel eyes. 

“I thought I heard you out here,” Mikasa rescued Eren, making her way past her gaping best friend to grab a glass of water. She pushed her cousin aside to get to the ice box. “I forgot to text you because we fell asleep, Eren’s bed doesn’t get here til later today so I said he could crash here last night.”

Mikasa’s cousin just nodded, he had lost interest in the unexpected visitor standing mostly naked in his kitchen on Sunday morning. 

“Eren, this is Levi, my cousin I told you about.”

“Hi Levi,” Eren mustered. 

Hooded gray eyes met with Eren’s bright green ones and Levi grunted in response, heading back toward the room upstairs. Eren’s eyes followed Levi the entire time, purposefully trying not to stare at his ass, but seriously, it was  _ right there _ in those sweats. 

Mikasa definitely noticed, and definitely rolled her eyes. When Eren looked back at his friend she frowned at him. 

  
“Don’t  _ even _ , Jaeger.”


	4. I got COMPLETELY called out in front of the whole school!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? A somewhat consistent posting schedule? Wild. I just turned in my my last paper for the semester so to celebrate finals week, here's another chapter!
> 
> Thank you all so much for your comments and kudos, every time I get them I just can't wait to get started on the next chapter for you guys!

Eren barely survived his first week at Harvard. If barely surviving was collapsing in an empty classroom at 3 o’clock on Friday and bursting into tears. 

It was the week from hell. 

Not just any hell either, like a special circle carved out just for Eren. Maybe it was because he had lied to Mikasa about skipping class that one time freshman year, or maybe the karma gods were raining down on him because he and Armin dinged Grisha’s Audi on a curb and convinced him the valet did it. It must have been something though, because life just wasn’t this miserable for no reason. 

It hadn’t started out all bad. Eren’s first class wasn’t until 10am on Monday, which gave him plenty of time to get ready, grab a breakfast, and pick up a latte on his way into campus. He showed up five minutes early to class and managed to snag a seat toward the front, which was good because he’d need to soak up all the lawyer lingo if he was really going to prove Jean wrong. He must have missed the dress code memo though, because his colorblocked romper stood out against a sea of grayscale T-shirts and jeans. Almost as much as the custom pearl pink Macbook he perched on his little half desk. 

But whatever, Eren had never minded standing out. At least, he hadn’t before. 

Sitting in the front of the class meant he could hear all the whispers behind him. 

“ _ Looks like Ken got lost on his way to the dreamhouse.” _

The whispers had been easy enough to brush off, it was nothing new. He had been teased for being gay ever since junior high when it was a foreign concept. In high school people were more understanding of sexual orientation but it didn’t mean his flamboyant sense of fashion wasn’t a topic of conversation. 

In Eren’s second class of the day, he wondered if he had a chance of fitting in with all the serious students roaming around on campus. He knew he might be a little different but he hadn’t even spoken to another student in any of his classes. 

Seated in a circle on the grass in the Yard, Eren’s classmates were going around introducing themselves. 

“Annie Leonhart, I did my undergrad in women’s studies, I participated in the women’s march, and I was valedictorian at Barnard where I got my Phd. in War History.” The cool blonde in a gray turtleneck looked bored while she rattled off her list of accomplishments. The rest of the group nodded solemnly and took their turns. 

“Sasha, I did my undergrad in France while writing my third violin symphony inspired by a well known patisserie and spent a year off backpacking in Switzerland with Connie—” she jerked her thumb to the nearly bald guy sitting next to her.

“Yea, I’m Connie, my dad is an alumni here, I helped organize fair labor protests in Argentina while studying abroad and I received the University of Chicago’s humanitarian award my senior year of undergrad. “

Eren blinked. The group was now looking expectantly at him, waiting for his introduction and he had never felt so out of his element. He offered his most winning smile and gave it a go. 

“I’m Eren Jaeger, I’m an Aries and an autumn, although I think I have a knack for making all the seasonal palettes work. I was president of my sorority and I just hit my 50,000 follower mark on my new YouTube channel so my brand is really taking off.”

“Are you at the wrong school?” Annie didn’t miss a beat after Eren finished, his bright smile faltering. 

“Alright, that’s enough, let’s get started.”

Their professor intervened but Annie’s cool gaze lingered on Eren a few more seconds before she shook her head and turned to her text book. 

By Friday, Eren was frazzled and trying to remember where his criminology class was when he bumped into a familiar face. 

“Oh my gosh, Jean!”

“Eren, what are you—what are you doing here?”

“Oh my gosh, Jean, it is so crazy that I just ran into you, hey do you know where Professor Smith’s Criminology class is?”

“Eren, are you here to see me?”

Pausing, Eren looked up at his ex-boyfriend, Jean looked confused. That made sense, Eren hadn’t exactly told him he was going to Harvard and it was the first time they had seen each other since that night at Mitras. 

“No, Jean, I actually go here.”

“You, go to Harvard? You, Eren Jaeger, got into Harvard law?”

“What? Like it’s hard?” 

“I just didn’t think I’d see you here.” Jean looked like he was choosing his words carefully. 

“Look, I have to go, I can’t be late for class. I’ll see you around, m’kay?”

Eren waved and took off down the hall before Jean could say another word. Thankfully Smith’s classroom wasn’t too far away and he managed to grab the last open seat, right at the front of class. 

“Welcome to your first week of law school.”

Professor Smith stood at the front of the class grinning at his sea of students as he paced the front of the room. He was handsome, like Captain America handsome. Tall, blonde, and strong-jawed. Eren thought Criminology might be his new favorite class. 

“In this classroom you will learn to act, speak, think, and most importantly reason like lawyers. I hope you like where you’re sitting, this will be your seat for the semester and be warned front row, you’ll be my go-to for answers this semester. I’ll be expecting big things from each of you.”

Eren shifted in his seat, the professor’s smile seemed hungrier, a wolf picking a rabbit to have for dinner. He tried to look away when Smith’s stern blue eyes made contact.

“In the front, purple cardigan, what is your name?”

“Eren Jaeger, sir.”

“Mr. Jaeger, can you summarize last night’s case reading?”

Fuck. It was the first week, there were already assignments? Eren racked his brain but he couldn’t remember seeing anything about a case reading.

“I wasn’t aware there was a reading last night.”

Eren beamed at his professor innocently, he might not know much about law but he did know a thing about winning over professors. Unfortunately, Professor Smith didn’t look like he was impressed with Eren’s answer, his thick brows furrowed and he looked toward the middle of the room. 

“Freckles in the third row.”

“Marco Bott, sir.”

“Bott, what would happen if a lawyer went to a hearing without preparing their case?”

“They would lose it, sir.”

“That’s right. Do you think it’s acceptable for Mr. Jaeger to have neglected to prepare for class then?”

“N-no, sir.” Marco glanced down to Eren, looking almost guilty for his response while Eren’s teal eyes misted. 

“Class, given that it is my job to prepare you for a career as a lawyer, do you think it is acceptable for me to ask Mr. Jaeger to leave class and come back when he is fully prepared?”

Smith looked at the rest of the room, most students uncomfortably avoided his piercing gaze, except for a blonde at the back of the class. Annie Leonhart looked right at Eren and casted her vote. 

“I think that’s acceptable Professor Smith.”

Professor Smith looked expectantly at Eren, “Mr. Jaeger, the jury has voted. Please remove yourself and we will see you next week when you have fully prepared yourself. I expect a full summary of last night’s case reading submitted to my inbox in place of your participation today.”

Eren gaped at his professor. His cheeks were flushed and getting hotter while bricks filled his shoes. It took everything for him not to burst into tears in front of everyone as he finally began to move, slowly packing up his things and making his exit. 

Once he got through the doors and into the empty hallway, he let the tears flow freely down his face. Sobs began to rack his body until he couldn’t see where he was going. He reached for the wall and fumbled around until he found an unlocked door to a thankfully empty classroom and threw himself across a table. His bag fell to the floor, belongings scattering across the floor, the pink MacBook bounced in its fluffy protective case. 

“Fuck Annie! This fucking school! _FUCK_ Professor Smith!”

The words were barely coherent as Eren let loose all the pent up disappointment from the week. What was he doing here? Eren was kidding himself. He wasn’t a lawyer, he was just a wannabe Youtuber who had coasted along his whole life on his parents’ reputation and money. Even his friends didn’t really believe in him, Mikasa felt like she had to follow him across the country to make sure he didn’t make a stupid mistake. Jean thought it was more likely that Eren stalked him to Harvard than for Eren to actually go to school here. 

He didn’t fit in. 

He was out of his element. 

Why did Eren think he stood a chance?

“Oi, brat, what are you doing in here?”

Eren shot up from the desk, tripping over his scattered belongings. Two strong arms caught him before he hit the ground, gratefully Eren looked up to find familiar gray eyes staring back at him.

Shit. Mikasa’s cousin, he forgot she said Levi helped out in some of the classes here. 

“I-I’m sorry, I’ll get o-out of your way,” Eren stuttered, pulling away. He dropped to the ground and began gathering his things while Levi stood there silently staring him down. 

_ Fucking hell _ , Eren cursed to himself. As if this week could get any worse. Wiping his nose on the sleeve of his cardigan, Eren stood up, belongings in hand, and offered a half-assed grin before turning to leave the room. Before he opened the door, he heard Levi sigh.

“Let me guess, Professor Smith?”

Eren paused, his hand was right on the doorknob and he could just walk out in the hall and run away. His parents would be happy to have him back at home, Mikasa would probably follow him to California if he went, maybe even Armin. He would never have to see Jean, or Professor Smith, or Annie Leonhart ever again.

Instead, Eren turned to look at Levi and with a wavering sigh, he nodded. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever been so humiliated.”

“Yea, Erwin can be a real dick, especially to first years.”

Eren chuckled softly, still sniffling. “I should have known there was a reading or something, law school is so much harder than learning how to curate an Instagram.”

“You’re not wrong,” Levi agreed dryly, folding his arms he leaned back on a desk. Eren looked away sheepishly before a soft sigh brought his attention back to the raven staring at him. 

“Look, brat, you aren’t the first person Erwin Smith has made cry, fuck you’re probably not even the first one this week. But he’s a good professor and you can learn a lot if you buck up and do your work.”

“I don’t belong here,” Eren protested. “I’m not impressive or special. I don't have any humanitarian awards, I definitely don't have a Phd. Fuck, I’m not even  _ smart _ .”

“You were smart enough to get into Harvard.”

Eren opened his mouth to respond, but Levi had caught him off guard. 

“I mean, unless you’re one of those shitty brats who had their parents pay their way in?”

“No!” Eren shouted back so fast the tips of his ears turned red. “No, I-I would never do that. I studied nonstop to pass my LSAT. I’m trying to prove I can do this but nobody takes me seriously.”

“Should they?”

Levi spoke so matter-of-factly that Eren barely knew how to respond. It was a lot more engagement than he had gotten when they were both standing in the kitchen half-naked, but Eren still didn’t know how to read the man. Levi was almost being  _ nice _ to him, but he looked bored still, like it was annoying for him to take time out of his day to give a pep talk to a snot-nosed brat he found in a classroom.  _ Should _ people take him seriously?

“I don’t know.”

“Look, kid. You have to figure out if  _ you _ want to be here first. Because if you don’t then professors like Smith are going to pick you apart and spit you back out, but if you want to do this then you’re going to have to let this one roll off your shoulder, fucking do your assignments, and just not give a fuck what anyone else thinks. Your choice.” 

Levi pushed off the desk and got closer to Eren. Close enough that Eren could smell the light notes of his cologne, bergamot, maybe some tea tree oil, and something soothing that he couldn’t quite place. 

“You can’t complain about nobody taking you seriously if you don’t give them a reason to. Nobody gives a shit what was on your application, or what degree you have, or any of that other pompous nerd shit. All people are going to know is what you show them _now._ ”

Eren pursed his lips and tucked his chin against the pages of his text book. He clung to it like a security blanket, firm against his chest. Levi’s blunt response was almost reassuring. His parents and friends had been supportive, but he still wasn’t sure if they really believed in him. His parents would always tell him he could do whatever he put his mind to, and Mikasa would always follow him to cheer him on. Armin could be realistic, but not enough to tell Eren no. 

Levi didn’t have a reason to bullshit him. 

“Yea, no, you’re right. I guess I have to figure out what I want.”

Levi nodded sharply and started to walk away. Eren stood by the door, watching the raven’s back, pondering the predicament he had gotten himself into. 

What  _ did _ Eren want? Was he here just to get Jean back, to prove something to his ex, to his parents, or maybe even himself? Part of Eren already knew the answer. He had always been petty but that wasn’t enough for how much work he had put in to pass the LSATs, to move across the country, and to actually enroll in Harvard. He could have proven his point just by getting in. There was a reason he was here and it didn’t have to do with Jean or anybody else. 

Feeling determined, Eren went to leave, hand on the door when Levi called out to him.

“Oi, brat?”

Eren paused, looking over his shoulder to find Levi facing him. 

“If you’re planning on sticking around, try speaking up in Smith’s class. He likes students who are opinionated.”

Eren smiled, his first real smile all day. 

“I’ll try that. Thanks, Levi.”


	5. Meeting My Ex's Fiance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is a little late, ya girl has had a bunch of stuff going on lately. New job, holiday nonsense, and all that jazz. 
> 
> Thanks for the patience, thanks to those of you who comment on every chapter, it means the world to me that you like this story.

After talking to Levi, Eren’s Harvard experience did not immediately get better but he devoted some extra time to studying and within a few weeks it had already paid off. The next time Professor Smith picked him out from the front of the class, Eren had an answer ready on his tongue. 

It wasn’t particularly impressive, knowing the bylaws they had read the night before, everyone in the class probably knew the answer, but it was a nice redemption from the last time he had been called on. Enough of a redemption for him to steal a look at Annie over his shoulder, she looked just as unimpressed as ever, but he still counted it as a win. 

Now that Eren had decided he belonged at Harvard, he fit in a little better. Not everyone on campus was as rigid as Annie Leonhart, in fact after being paired with them for a group assignment, Eren had a hard time believing that Sasha and Connie from his Law Intro class had such impressive resumes. 

“So what exactly qualifies someone as a successful YouTuber?”

Eren blinked up from his textbook at Connie, who was draped across the library table staring at him intently. 

“Uh, followers I guess?”

“So thousands of people watch your videos? You’re like a celebrity! Shit, Sasha, I told you we’d meet some big names at Harvard!”

Flipping a page in his textbook, Eren shook his head and refocused on his studying. “I’m  _ not _ a celebrity.”

“Has someone ever recognized you from your channel?” 

Sasha leaned over Eren’s shoulder, chomping on trail mix. Eren cringed as he saw a few peanut crumbs fly across the page, Sasha was great at invading personal space and always having a snack on hand. Connie swore the snack habit saved their lives in Switzerland and after joining their study group, Eren was inclined to believe him. 

Study group was a loose term, considering he had only gotten through three pages of the night’s reading, but it was also reassuring to have friends on campus. Mikasa was right down the road, but since his last encounter with Levi, Eren felt embarrassed going over there. Sure, Levi has been encouraging and actually offered some great advice, but he had also seen Eren ugly cry and snot all over his sleeve. Ew.

“A few times, it’s not like I can’t go to the grocery store or have to wear a disguise when I leave the house.”

“Shit, that’s still impressive!”

Connie leaned back in his seat until he was almost tipping over. Eren watched Sasha grab the back of the chair and give it a solid shake, earning a shout from Connie and a rude look from the librarian. Eren laughed at the spectacle until he saw a familiar head of two-toned hair duck into one of the library stacks. 

_ Jean. _

Sasha and Connie didn’t notice when Eren ran from the table, too caught up in their new game of trying to knock each other out of the library chairs. He ducked through the aisle of fiction, but Jean must have already moved on to another section of the library, Eren almost turned around when he heard Jean’s voice coming from the next aisle over. 

“Jean!” Eren exclaimed, turning the corner. 

The carefree smile on Jean’s face dropped when he saw Eren and he stepped away from the bookshelf he had been leaning on. A handsome, freckled man turned to look at Eren and it was only then he realized that he had chased his ex-boyfriend through a library.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you here, I was just in that aisle and…” Eren couldn’t come up with a good excuse, but his face was hot and flushed and he had to try  _ something _ to not seem like a stalker. 

“Yea, I come to the library sometimes, you know, since I go here.”

“Right, no, that makes sense!” 

_ Fuck _ . There was no clear way to come back from this, and the freckled guy—who Eren was pretty certain sat behind him in Criminology—was giving Eren an absolutely pitiful look. 

“Hi, I’m sorry. I’m Eren, I think we have a class together right?” Eren stuck his hand out and the freckled man accepted the handshake. 

“Marco Bott. We have Criminology together, I’m really sorry about what happened with Professor Smith and Annie—”

“Oh!” Eren cringed at the memory. “Don’t worry about it, I’m honestly so over it. So how do you know Jean, do you have a class together too? Jean and I were at undergrad together, actually we even—”

Jean cut Eren off before he could keep going with his nervous babble. 

“Eren, Marco is my fiance.”

Eren opened his mouth, willing words to come out. He needed to say something,  _ anything _ , but he wasn’t expecting to meet his ex-boyfriend’s new fiance a year less than a year after he had been dumped. And by less than a year, it was more like a few months, so just how long had they been dating before Jean popped the question? And why was this guy better than Eren?

“Congratulations!” Eren finally sputtered loudly. Too loud for a library. Too loud for anyone to think he was playing things cool.

“I am so happy for you! Wow! When did this-when did this happen?” 

Jean tugged Marco closer to him, like he expected Eren to do something crazy. Which, honestly, was not entirely off brand for Eren, but he was still appalled that Jean thought so little of him. 

“Our parents know each other, so we got together over the summer and it just made sense.” 

Jean was enunciating each word slowly, like he was talking to a child, while Eren stared back at him in utter disbelief. 

“Made sense, no yea, that’s great Jean. Marco, your family is probably all lawyers too, aren’t they?”

Tentatively, Marco nodded, still not aware of the full situation at hand. 

“Yea, my dad, both my brothers. Actually Jean’s father and mine went to school together at Harvard.”

“Wow,” Eren smiled the best he could. He could feel the prick of tears in his eyes. He had to get out of the aisle, out of the library. Fuck, he wanted to run off campus and never turn back. “That sounds like a real fairy tale. I’ll get back to my study group now, just wanted to say hi to an old friend.”

The word friend struggled to make it off Eren’s wavering lips, the consonants catching on the emotions threatening to tumble out. He tried to move quickly out of the aisle, bumping the corner of the bookshelf. 

“Woah, Eren, are you okay?”

Connie tried to slow him down but Eren whisked by the study table, shoving his books in his bag and hustling out the door, leaving his new friends confused in his wake. 

Eren made it to his car safely before the tears began to flow but his hand hesitated on the door. He was in no condition to drive and Mikasa would still be at work, not that he wanted to call her anyway. He didn’t want to hear about how he shouldn’t have held onto the hope of he and Jean getting back together. Eren didn’t understand why he felt so ripped apart, he had already decided he was doing this for himself, not Jean. But hearing how quickly he had moved on, whether Eren was at Harvard for himself or not, still stung. 

Thoughts following over him in a cloud of thunder, Eren started walking. Head to the ground, tears trailing after him, he walked until he came across a little strip mall he had never noticed. It couldn’t have been too far from campus, he had only been walking for about half an hour or so, but he spied a salon tacked on to the end that made his heart leap into his chest. 

Eren might not be able to call Mikasa, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t find a listening ear for his problems. A salon might as well be a therapy clinic, that was a fact. 

“Hello?” Eren called out into the nearly empty salon. An afternoon on a Tuesday probably wasn’t the busiest time, but he didn’t see any techs hanging around waiting for customers. 

“Just a—” There was a crash from the back. “-minute!”

Standing at the front desk, Eren took in the little salon. It certainly wasn’t like the ones he was used to, the chairs were a little older and there were only a few shelves of different colors at the front, but soft lighting and lively plants on every available surface gave it a homey feeling. It was more like coming to a friend’s house for a slumber party and makeover, which in his current state, was exactly what Eren needed. 

“Thanks for waiting! What can I do you for?”

“Um, honestly?” Eren sighed, looking around the salon. “I need a therapy session.”

“Say no more. Today I’ll be Doctor Hange, unlicensed therapist and pamperer extraordinaire.”

“Eren Jaeger, I guess I’m your patient today.”

Eren laughed and followed Hange’s bouncing brown ponytail to one of the pedicure chairs, beginning to peel off his shoes while they ran hot water into the foot bath. Once he got settled in, Hange leaned against their stool and looked up impatiently. 

“So spill, what’s going on?”

“Fuck, there’s so much.”

“Start at the beginning,” Hange chided, diving their gloved hands into the water. 

While Eren began to recount exactly how he had wound up in his current situation, Hange worked diligently below, scrubbing, massaging, and pampering. He hadn’t realized how sore his feet were, when was the last time he indulged like this? Probably right before graduation. 

Hange was a great listener, peppering in their own comments here and there, unable to hold back peals of laughter when Eren told them about being kicked out of Criminology class. 

“Sounds like you had Smith for that one, he’s a real hardass.”

It had been just long enough that Eren could laugh too. “Yea, I guess so. Does everyone in Cambridge know the professors at Harvard?”

“Nah,” Hange shook their head. “Just the ones who used to go there.”

“You went to Harvard?” Eren didn’t mean to sound as shocked as he did, but he couldn’t imagine working hard to get into a place like Harvard and then becoming a nail technician. 

Hange hummed, “I did for a spell, realized I was more interested in people than law. A beauty salon is much better for studying people than a courtroom. You only get to study certain people there, this way I get all sorts.”

Eren could understand that. 

“Was Professor Smith a teacher when you went there?”

With a mischievous grin, Hange looked up at him through their wide frame glasses. “Oh no, that bastard was a  _ student _ .”

Eren clasped a hand across his mouth in scandal. He didn’t need to encourage Hange for them to continue. 

“He was a pretentious prick then too, but he’s always had a soft spot for those who don’t belong. That’s where our little group stemmed from, there were only a handful of us, scholarship kids mainly, and then there was Erwin. Alumni parents, early acceptance, never had to work as hard as the rest of us, but he couldn’t talk to anyone without coming off as a condescending dick.”

Hange paused a moment to drain the water, patting off Eren’s legs. 

“I think that’s why we became good friends. None of us treated him like he was special, but we appreciated what he taught us and I think he learned stuff from us too, he was born for the sole purpose of taking over his dad’s firm, I think that’s why they got so mad when he decided to teach instead.”

Eren chewed on his lip while he thought about what a young Erwin Smith must have been like. Or even a young Hange. 

“Now, you still haven’t gotten to today’s story kiddo.”

Blinking down at her, Eren furrowed his brows. “What makes you think there’s a story behind today.”

She nodded toward the window at the front of the salon. “No cars out front, that means you walked here. You don’t strike me as the type to walk several miles to a no name salon just for fun, so my guess is something else brought you here today.”

“I met his fiance.”

“The ex-boyfriend?” Hange clarified, pausing for a moment to make sure she understood. 

Eren hummed, “Yea, Jean. I ran into him in the library with a guy from my criminology class. Well...I guess I ran after him, not into him.”

Hange winced and Eren returned the grimace. 

“Yea, not my finest moment, but I hadn’t seen him since the first week and I guess I thought—shit, I don’t know what I thought. Maybe that he would see how well I was doing and realize I’m serious and smart enough for the future he wants?”

“Is that the future  _ you _ want?”

“I did. Or, at least I thought I did. But then, after I left Criminology that day I ran into my best friend’s cousin, and he said that if I was doing this degree for someone else it wasn’t going to work, I have to do this for myself. Especially if I want people to take me seriously, I have to give them a reason.”

“That’s good advice,” Hange murmured, continuing their work. 

“It is.” Eren agreed. “But when I saw Jean with Marco, it still hurt. Even if I already decided I’m not doing this for him.”

Hange patted off his feet and began to put their bottles and lotions away. 

“Doesn’t mean you’re done healing. Kid, you sound like you wear your heart on your sleeve and I’m not saying it’s a bad thing but things are going to hurt even if you think you’re over it. I’ve got a good friend who would tell you to let that pain make you stronger and fuel you to finish what you started.”

They stood up and looked at Eren curiously, chewing their lip.

“Well, he probably wouldn’t say it as nice as that. He’s a lawyer so he’s good with words but he’s always been prickly about advice, or interacting with people in general, honestly. He tries but it’s like it takes all his effort and then he’s got to ruin it with a snarky comment.”

“Sounds like a real charmer,” Eren laughed, following Hange to the front desk to pay. 

“I wouldn’t know,” they shrugged. “But if you need another therapy session, you just come see me and Doctor Hange will do their best!”

Eren smiled gently as he took his card back, then squealed in surprise as Hange enveloped him in an unexpected hug.

Tentatively, Eren returned the gesture, then said his goodbyes before he started walking back the way he came. It was going to start getting dark soon and he needed to make it back to his apartment before Mikasa came to check on him. 

Hange watched their newest client walk away with a grin, he seemed like a firecracker, just like someone else they knew. They’d have to tell Levi and Erwin about this one at dinner. 


	6. I Get Stranded on Halloween!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all your patience. I was planning on a brief hiatus during the holidays but I started a demanding new job and it's taken me longer than I wanted to get this chapter done. Going to try to get back to regular updates but it might not be as frequent as it was before. Plus, I just want to make sure the story is good. Writer's block sucks. 
> 
> This was one of the scenes that inspired this whole fic, hopefully it does the AU justice!

“Okay, how about this one?”

“Eren, camera fell. I can’t see.”

“Oh!” Eren dashed across the room to put his phone upright, smiling brightly into the lens. He had been FaceTiming Armin for the last hour while he tried on different outfits. He was going to his first party as a Harvard student. Eren had begun to worry that Harvard just didn’t have parties, at least not within the law school, it was over halfway through October and this was the first he had heard of one. Not that he had many friends outside of Connie, Sasha, and Mikasa yet. 

The real shock was that  _ Annie _ told him about the party. Eren would be less surprised if Jean had been the one to extend the invitation and they hadn’t spoken a word to each other since the run in at the library. 

Eren had seen Jean on campus since their run-in in the library, Marco was in a few of Eren’s classes and it wasn’t rare to see Jean waiting outside Criminology. They looked happy. Which stung but Eren couldn’t find it in himself to hate Marco, the guy was some kind of modern day saint. 

“Are you going for sexy or cute?” Armin asked from the phone screen, the blonde propped his chin on his hands while he watched Eren pose on the other end of the camera. The current costume up for debate was a soldier. Eren saluted the camera wearing a crisp white shirt, tan pants, and a cropped military jacket embroidered with two crossing wings. 

“It’s not very sexy,” Armin mused.

“I mean, it has these straps,” Eren snapped one of the black leather straps that made up the harness around his legs.”

“Yea, but there’s  _ clothes _ underneath them.”

“I mean, I always do sexy for Halloween but I’m a little worried about this crowd.”

“Who’s throwing this one again?”

“Annie Leonhart.”

Armin wrinkled his nose, he had heard about the encounter in Smith’s class the first week of classes. From what Eren had told him, it didn’t sound like she had been any more pleasant since then. 

“Right?” Eren laughed at his friend’s reaction. “I was surprised too but I was coming out of the library after a study session—”

“Still can’t believe  _ Eren Jaeger _ studies now.”

Eren rolled his eyes at the interruption and continued. “Rude. Anyway, so I was walking out and Annie was with these two other guys she’s always hanging with.”

“The big hulky ones?”

“You’re a great listener, Armin.”

Armin threw his hands up in surrender and mimed himself zipping his lips shut. 

“But yes, those ones. Reiner and Bernhot, Berholt? Something like that. Anyway, they were talking about a party and I  _ may _ have been very obviously eavesdropping.”

Even though Armin had effectively zipped his lips, Eren noticed his friend’s dramatic eye roll. 

“Yea, you don’t have to say it, subtlety has never been my strong suit. Anyway, she noticed and calls me over and tells me that she’s throwing a party at this townhouse they’re renting—it’s not too far from Mika’s cousins’ actually. But she gives me the address, the time, and says to make sure and dress up because it’s a Halloween party.”

“I mean, at least you’re finally going to a party.”

Eren laid on his bed and rolled over, taking his phone with him so he could still see his friend. “Right, I thought I was going to have to dress up and get wine drunk by myself this year.”

“Is Mikasa going with you?”

“No, she has her own gig with work friends. I’m flying solo tonight.”

“Then I  _ definitely _ think you should go with the first costume.”

Both men exchanged mischievous smirks. Mikasa had a history of being against Eren’s sexy Halloween costumes, often trying to push group costumes in hopes that her friend wouldn’t show up in lingerie. Eren usually responded by dressing up for the group costume in as little fabric as Instagram’s nudity policy would allow.

Last year’s Power Rangers group featured Armin, Mikasa, and a few other Sorority members in full body suits while Eren arrived in spandex shorts, boots, gloves, and a white cross strap on his bare chest. Jean loved it, Armin found it hilarious, and Mikasa was furious. 

Mikasa wouldn’t be at this party, but Eren thought his costume was more tame than its predecessors, this was still a Harvard party.

By the time Armin signed off from FaceTime and Eren had gotten himself back into costume, he was running fashionably late for Annie’s party. It was a Massachusetts October so he had enough sense to throw on a coat and scarf, sending a quick snap of his costume to his story first, his social media followers had helped narrow down the selection to the three costumes he modeled for Armin and would be waiting for the reveal of the winner. 

A freckle-faced brunette that Eren thought he recognized from campus answered the door and ushered him inside. He made it past the entryway before his heart dropped. There must have been a mistake, this wasn’t the right party. 

Not a single person was in costume. There wasn’t even a lazy pair of cat ears to be found. Instead, there were about fifteen Harvard students in traditional dress of sweaters and button downs, the most risque thing in the room was a wool skirt that hit just above the knees. 

Eren tugged his coat tighter around him, suddenly thankful for the cold snap that had made him cover up before he left the house. He began to turn back toward the door, to leave before anything more traumatic could happen, when blue eyes spotted him from across the room. 

“Oh, Eren you made it.” Annie grinned, making her way toward him. “Bertholdt, don’t be rude, get his coat.

One of the two giants Annie hung out with appeared behind Eren, grabbing his shoulders and giving the coat a demanding tug. 

Eren twisted away.

“Sorry, I’m freezing, I’ve actually had a cold coming on all day.” He gave a lame and unconvincing cough, “See? I should probably just head home!”

Annie grabbed Eren’s arm and pulled him further into the room. “Take your coat off and stay a while, if you’re sick you don’t want to be walking around out there anyway!”

Protests rolled off his tongue at the same time his coat fell away. Eren should have gone with the soldier costume. At least he could have peeled off the straps and coat and blended in. Instead, he was standing in Annie’s living room in a sleeveless, corseted bodysuit that cut so high above his legs, the fabric barely covered his sharp hip bones. Fishnet tights and a bow tie choker with matching wrist cuffs completed the sexy ensemble, it was probably the most clothing Eren had ever worn to a Halloween event and he felt completely naked. 

Bertholdt let out a low whistle, which got the attention of anyone in the room who hadn’t already been staring. 

“Wow, Eren, that is a  _ great _ outfit,” Annie could barely contain her laughter, hiding her mouth behind one hand in a feigned politeness. To make matters worse, across the room Eren spotted Jean, with Marco at his side, leaned against the doorframe outside of the kitchen.  _ Well, fuck. _

Eren smiled brightly and jut his chin toward the blonde. He slipped a pair of black lace bunny ears on his head and cocked a hip out. He couldn’t turn back time and show up to the party  _ not _ dressed like a playboy bunny, might as well own it. 

“Thanks Annie, I like yours too. Except usually when I dress up as a frigid bitch I try not to look so constipated.” Eren pulled away and snatched his coat while Annie sputtered, flashing a smile to the rest of the group. “Thanks again for inviting me, this party was super fun!”

Not bothering to wrap up in his coat, Eren stormed out the door.

The crisp fall air did wonders for his swimming head, leaving the party was the right move but now he was dressed in next to nothing far enough from his apartment that he didn’t want to walk back in three inch heels. Uber might save him from walking the distance, but at this time of night he would be stuck waiting longer than it would take him to get there. Pulling out his phone, he blinked back the tears welling up in his eyes, this was  _ not _ how the night was supposed to go. 

_ Hey, Mika how late is your work party? _

Really though, what had Eren expected. He should have known the moment  _ Annie _ was inviting him to a party, but he thought things were finally turning around. He had been doing better in class, he had been trying to get people to take him more seriously. 

The phone chirped at him with Mikasa’s response. 

**Probably like 3am? That’s when the bar closes.**

_ Oh okay _

**Eren, is something wrong? Do I need to come home??**

_ No! Enjoy your party! I was just wondering! :)  _

Eren didn’t want to make her worry, but he really didn’t want to go home right now either. 

_ Would it be okay if I stayed at your place? The party I’m at is right down the road. _

Not technically a lie, he had gone to the party and now he was right in the area. But Eren knew if he told Mikasa what happened, she would leave her work party and be on her way home. He didn’t want to ruin her night too. 

**Yea, of course. If you get home before me there’s a key in the mailbox.**

Eren pulled his coat tightly around him and made his way to the townhouse. At least now he could get his emotional breakdown out of the way before Mikasa got home, then they could go to brunch in the morning and he could tell her what happened. She might be less likely to leave immediately and kick Annie’s ass if he got a mimosa in her first. 

The key was right where Mikasa said it would be and Eren sighed when the warmth of the townhouse wrapped around him. It had been so cold outside that his skin had gone numb, just on the surface, he could feel himself unthaw as he shed his coat and dropped face first onto the couch, his fingers grappling with the fluffy blanket. 

Finally, Eren let out the tears that had been building since the minute he stepped foot in that party. 

Unhindered sobs racked through the living room while Eren cursed into the blanket, pulling a pillow to his chest and moving into a curled position, his knees tucked under his chest. Caught up in his emotions, Eren didn’t notice Levi come out of his room. 

To Mikasa’s credit, she hadn’t warned Eren that Levi was home because Levi wasn’t actually supposed to be home. He was supposed to be at his own party which he had expertly left several hours early with the excuse of a headache, really he just hated parties. Especially Halloween parties where he was required to wear a costume. He had done the bare minimum by popping in fangs and carrying his briefcase, an homage to the idea of lawyers as blood-sucking parasites. The costume was a hit, enough to leave an impression and let him sneak away at 8:30.

When Levi heard sobs coming from the living room, his first thought was something had happened to his cousin. That or a very sad ghost had broken into his apartment. 

What he was  _ not _ expecting, was to find Mikasa’s friend planted, ass in the air, on the couch, wearing next to nothing. He couldn’t see the collar or cuffs, but the ears and fishnets were enough to piece together what the rest of the costume was. Levi shook his head, trying not to ogle his cousin’s friend. He cursed softly before finally addressing Eren.

“Oi, brat, what the fuck are you doing here?”

Okay, probably not the best way to approach the situation. 

Eren sat up, sniffling, and turned to look at Levi. 

Shit, shit, shit. Eren hadn’t even considered that Mikasa’s cousin might be home. When she told him where the key was located, he had just assumed that meant Levi was out. 

“I-I’m sorry,” Eren hiccuped, scrambling off the couch, taking the blanket with him as a makeshift robe. He couldn’t decide what was more mortifying, the fact that Levi had witnessed him bawling, or the fact that Levi had definitely noticed the revealing costume. 

When Levi didn’t say anything, Eren tried to explain himself.

“Mikasa said I could crash here for the night because my party was nearby, I’m so sorry, I didn’t think you were home.”

Levi glanced at the clock, “Some party, finishing up before ten.”

“I left a little early,” Eren admitted, scraping his heels together. 

“Tch, is that why you’re crying? Your party sucked?”

“No! I mean, kind of. It just...wasn’t my kind of party. I didn’t belong there.”

Again, Levi let his eyes wander down Eren’s lithe form, the bodysuit and fishnets not leaving a lot to the imagination. 

“What  _ is _ your kind of party?”

Eren snorted and sat down on the couch, arms crossed. “One where I’m not invited just to be the laughing stock.”

“Hard to imagine people were laughing at you wearing  _ that _ .”

“Look, I’ve had enough people make fun of me tonight, I really don’t need you doing it too.”

“I wasn’t.” Levi snapped.

Crimson painted Eren’s cheeks, his emerald eyes trying desperately to avoid the mercury ones focused on him. “Well, I haven’t received a genuine compliment the whole night.”

“That’s fucking dumb. You look good.”

Eren blinked. This was not happening. Mikasa’s very hot cousin was definitely not hitting on him. Not after finding him sprawled out on the couch bawling his eyes out. Shit, he probably had mascara everywhere too. He looked over at Levi and noticed the red tint to his cheeks and ears.

Levi stared back for a few seconds and then stood up from the couch. 

“I’m ordering pizza. If you want to have some you can, but I’m not putting any weird shit on it, so don’t ask.”

“Do pineapples count as weird shit?”

Raising the phone to his ear, Levi didn’t say anything. He walked back to his room for his credit card and when he made it back to the living room, Eren was curled up under the blanket, flipping through channels on the TV, his bunny ears still on his head, slightly askew. 

“Oh!” Eren nearly squealed, pausing on a channel. “We’re watching this. There’s nothing that makes me feel better than a Reese Witherspoon movie.”

Levi rolled his eyes and went into the kitchen, Eren could hear him rummaging around in the cabinets and turned up the volume on the TV. Sweet Home Alabama had just started and Eren sighed happily, burrowing into the blankets. Levi emerged from the kitchen with a bottle of wine and two glasses, arching an eyebrow, he looked at Eren. 

“I think this is the sort of thing you usually do on a bad night right?”

Eren grinned and accepted one of the wine glasses after Levi popped the cork and gave him a generous pour. “Absolutely, no better remedy than wine and pizza.”

On cue, the doorbell rang and Levi went to retrieve their dinner. He brought over plates and an entire roll of paper towels, eyeing where Eren sat warily. “Do  _ not _ under any circumstances get fucking sauce or grease or whatever, on  _ any _ surrounding surface or I will make you eat outside.”

Eren rolled his eyes and opened the pizza box. Fuck, it smelled heavenly. This was exactly what he needed after the night’s events, it was a little weird that he was doing this with Levi instead of Mikasa, but he wasn’t entirely disappointed by it. 

They finished eating and settled back into the couch, Eren polished off two glasses of red wine with ease and between the blanket and the warmth from the alcohol, he didn’t think things could be more cozy. Plus, it didn’t hurt that Levi smelled amazing. He had probably splashed some cologne on for wherever he was before coming home.. Suddenly, Eren was more aware of how close they were sitting than anything going on on the television. 

Slowly, and ever-so-gently, Eren leaned his head toward Levi’s shoulder, eyeing the other man cautiously as he did so. When his cheek finally made contact with the bone of Levi’s shoulder, he held his breath, waiting for Levi to tell him to move. 

But he didn’t.

Levi didn’t even look away from the television. Eren let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding and began to relax. He didn’t remember exactly when he fell asleep, he just knew one moment he was leaning on Levi, enjoying the shared warmth, and the next he was vaguely aware of two voices whispering back and forth. 

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“He fell asleep like this, I wasn’t going to make him move. Kid had a fucking rough night.”

Eren could feel the timbre of Levi’s voice rumble through his chest, the other voice belonging to Mikasa, who must have just gotten home. 

“I don’t care.”

Levi rolled his eyes and looked down at Eren, still peacefully resting. Mikasa huffed at the two on the couch and leaned over to shake her friend’s shoulder. 

“Come on Eren, wake up.”

Slowly Eren opened one eye, peering up at his friend. 

“Mmm,” he hummed sleepily, “Hi, Mika.”

“Let’s get you into bed. It’s three in the morning.”

Lifting himself up, Eren realized he must have slipped off Levi’s shoulder at some point during the night, his head was tucked in Levi’s lap, and he noticed the way Levi’s hand jerked back as he stood up. Had Levi been stroking his hair?

Eren made his way toward Mikasa’s room, silently thanking her for not commenting on the costume he was still wearing. He closed the door to her room and could just barely make out the voices of his best friend and her cousin. 

“I’m serious, Levi. Leave him alone.”

“I’m not doing anything!” Levi hissed. 

“Yea well, don't get any ideas. He already had his heart broken once, he doesn’t need you anywhere near him.”

In Mikasa’s room, Eren hovered by the door eavesdropping on the argument in the living room. Mikasa had always been a little overprotective of him. Shit, when he started dating Jean, she would regularly be perched at the top of the stairs shooting daggers at his boyfriend. But it wasn’t like he and Levi were anywhere close to dating. They had really only spoken a handful of times.

Eren thought Levi was hot. From the first day he walked in on Mikasa’s cousin half-naked in the kitchen, he had developed a little crush. And while Eren hadn’t sought Levi out, he just happened to be there at the right time. There was this feeling in Eren’s chest though, a tightness that tugged when he rested his head on Levi’s shoulder. A tickle in his stomach that turned to something warm and almost, safe when he finally relaxed into the older man. 

“Eren, what are you doing? Get out of that ridiculous costume and go to bed.”

Mikasa was standing in the doorway, shooing her friend as she pushed by and headed into the bathroom. Eren glanced back into the living room, meeting Levi’s even silver gaze. His lips quirked up in half a smirk and Eren couldn’t help but shyly smile back. 

“Goodnight, Levi.” He whispered, closing the bedroom door to change. 

Levi watched the door slowly close and sighed when he heard the click of the close. 

“Goodnight, Eren.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on [TUMBLR](https://thewaywardsong.tumblr.com/)

**Author's Note:**

> I’m on [TUMBLR](https://thewaywardsong.tumblr.com/) and [Twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/thewaywardsong)


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